Description: So this rocker chick? She beats this stripper down with a metal guitar. Totally owned her, for serious. (Winner: Elle)
There's matches and then there's matches. Sometimes there are fights with absolutely no meaning. Those kinds of battles are few and far inbetween for Elle. Then there are those fights that happen in dark alleys, hidden tombs, and on the streets for blood money. That's where you'll find Elle most often. And then there's that rare opportunity where the two meet. That strange junction where two meet is completely unique to this world, and Elle will never get used to it, even if she's more than happy to use it to her advantage.
Calling someone out for a match is just one of the many ways that you can get someone out of a hidey hole. It gives a chance to meet someone, talk business, and then smash in their face.
Elle has been trying for weeks to get a hold of the mysterious Mr. Big, but to no avail. The result? Elle's forged on ahead, without the Syndicate's knowledge or blessing. A dangerous proposition. But there's one thing that remains to sate her curiousity. Tran did mention that Big's moll and secretary was able to put up a fight.
This Elle has to see for herself, for a variety of reasons.
So a fight has been set up. A simple exhibition match. Nothing too serious, of course. Just one fighter sizing up another. Right?
There is a certain amount of amusement that she gets when people think of her as Big's secretary. She's only his secretary in certain situations, usually when he asks for her to play that particular role. She is certainly armcandy for the Southtown crime lord, but she isn't really his secretary.
She's his enforcer.
Leilani Ke'ekikolani deals with those whom attempt to hurt Big's business. She's found her niche in this arena, and would've been quite happy to continue in that role, yet the Syandicate felt she had enough of a grasp on how to hurt people that she could be an asset to their organizations. So, in addition to the income she generates in her other roles in his club, they made her a public face. The combination of this publicity and the misconception of her status as an assistant led to an event with a strange man named Tran.
Being hit with money is nothing new, but usually it's a bill or two being thrown at her by a drunken patron, not a wad of bills upside the head. The insult of this has kept her slightly irked on a daily basis, the simple view of money itself causing her aggrivation. But tracking Tran down wasn't on the schedule she had laid out in front of her, so when his partner, this woman named Elle, contacted Leilani in order to start a little rumble on the official side of things, she jumped at the chance.
Besides, it's a simple exhibition match. There's money involved. That's the bottom line.
That's what Elle would have people believe anyway. Anyone that spends enough time with her would learn that Elle's always working an angle. The woman is less a fighter than a coldhearted opportunist the likes of which are rarely seen outside those of megalomaniacs and insane masterminds. The only difference is that Elle takes great pains not to let greed and patty feelings halt her. In the short time she's been on the career path she's chosen, she's made headway into venues a lot hardened ne're do-wells could only dream of.
That path has lead her to command a group of misfits. Misanthropes and flotsam of society that nobody wanted or needed. Life's offal, cast aside and left to flounder.
So Elle's quite familiar with the kinds of circumstances that creates Leilani. Regardless of what Elle thinks she is, it's what she's heard that has her attention. There's a lot of curiousity there. Interest on a very professional level, as well as a simple curiousity.
In short, Elle wants to see what the so called 'Big Boys' have done with the people they've forged from dirt and garbage.
Elle moves around the makeshift ring: a simple cordoned off area on the pavement and dirt of the walkway, checking her equipment and winding a long coil of wire around her bare left arm. She has a new outfit today. Skintight leather pants, motorcucle boots, and a black leather jacket missing it's left sleeve. This leaves one dusky-skinned arm bare to twine about it a length of wire, her dragon tattoo peeking out from under the coils.
"So you're Leilani. I've heard interesting things," Elle says, her voice cool and dry, creaking with the weariness that knowldge brings. "Thanks for coming by. So let's see what you got."
COMBATSYS: Elle has started a fight here.
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Elle 0/-------/-------|
In stark contrast to Elle's knowledge, Leilani doesn't really know anything about her opponent. Other people are still putting together the file on Elle for the Syndicate, while the Hawai'ian has been busy doing other things. None of them have revolved around getting to know her opponent whatsoever. The woman has not gotten used to the idea of needing to review official fights, and has thus failed to learn anything about her opponent, other than from what she sees now.
Great, another goddamned weapon fighter. She eyes the coil from under dark sunglasses, the wide lenses hiding where her gaze rests. Slowly, she smiles to herself, noting the other woman's appearance. Usually, Leilani is the trashy one when she's around other women. For once, she's dressed conservatively. Adjusting her gloves, she moves into the ring as well, nodding to her opponent after removing her sunglasses. Tossing the frames aside into a patch of grass, she turns her attention back to Elle, flashing a wide smile, bright as the morning sun in a cloudless sky. "I've been looking forward to meeting you, Elle," she says, voice gentle and warm. "I hope to make this worth your while."
And with that, the Hawai'ian begins to sway. A step there, a gentle hand motion like the waves... It would appear that she has begun to hula.
COMBATSYS: Leilani has joined the fight here.
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Elle 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Leilani
Weapons?
That's even the half of it. Having learned a while ago that using everything you have at your disposal to put another fighter down is just as fair as anything else, Elle has no qualms about taking knives to a fistfight. And garrotes. And clubs. And throwing fletchettes.
Leilani's hula dance makes Elle take notice for all of three seconds. She's learned that anything can be lethal. She hasn't fought the hula yet, but really, it was only a matter of time when it comes down to it. Leilani simply won;t be underestimated as Elle's body seems to thrum with a short bassline.
Without further warning, she takes a step forward, and thrusts a hand out. From her hand bursts a screeching, ear splitting sound much like a guitar chord, causing the air around Leilani to shimmer with the force as Elle attempts to melt the hula girl's brain with sraw sonic power.
COMBATSYS: Elle successfully hits Leilani with Metal Health.
- Power hit! -
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Elle 0/-------/------=|=====--\-------\0 Leilani
Now, Leilani normally wouldn't mind this. She happens to like the sounds of guitars, and some of her dances have involved tracks by bands such as Anthrax and Pantera. But having the equivalent of three Marshall stacks inside her head is not a good way to start off a day. Dropping to her knees in pain, she continues the hand motions of her dance until a small trail of blood runs down from her left ear. Seems like Elle's done some damage already.
She's very committed to this dance, apparently. Slapping her hands above her head, she leaves the right arm fully outrstretched overhead as the left swings down in an arc. Her hand, straight and rigid with palm upward, traces a wavelike pattern in the sand for a moment before she bursts back onto her feet, her right arm slapping down on her hip as she rockets her left upwards, twirling her hand at the wrist as she does.
A crack forms under Elle's feet. From this, a spinning torrent of water shoots forth, threatening to pick the leather-clad woman up and fling her into the air. And maybe shrink that leather a bit, too.
COMBATSYS: Elle blocks Leilani's Waterspout.
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Elle 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Leilani
The water bursts out from under Elle, and the rocker chick starts a moment. Pretty unexpected attack to be honest. Water chi. Interesting. The iron-faced woman manages to put up a full defensive stance with a crack of lightning, shiftin gher body weight. The blast hits her dead on, but the crime broker manages to dflect the brunt of the force with relative ease.
It does some bruising, but nothing more than a good blast with a firehose couldn't manage.
Nevertheless, Elle is indeed drenched. Water drips from her hair, face, and clothing, leaving her looking like a drowned rat. That is, until the electricity on her body crackles to life, the heat of the energy drying her off as she moves. It leaves her hair a little more frizzy, but otherwise none worse the wear.
As Leilani dances, Elle's eyes track her movements. The rocker's lips turn down for a moment in a contemplative frown for a second.
Then she acts. Her arm shoots forward in a rapid action as she attempts to snatch Leilani by the arm and hurl her up into the sky. If she uses her hula to focus, Elle's not going to let her have the benefit of it. Let's see how well she focuses her skills if she's busy flying through the air.
COMBATSYS: Leilani fails to counter Quick Throw from Elle with Counter Strike.
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Elle 0/-------/----===|=======\-------\1 Leilani
The Shark is off her game tonight. Maybe she's a little too focused in on the dance. Maybe the broken eardrum did something more to her. In any case, she's taking a pounding here early. As Elle rushes in, Leilani attempts to swing her arm out of the way, allowing her to strike back at the woman's elbow. Instead, she stumbles slightly, and the leather-clad woman is able to easily seize her arm. Before she knows what's hit her, she experiences a moment of freefall before crashing unceremoniously into the pavement. Skidding for a few moments on her backside before coming to a stop, her pants attempting to free themselves from her legs (yet ultimately failing), the Hawai'ian lays on the ground for a long moment before attempting to pick herself up again. That sucked.
If this shit keeps up, she might need to find a new employer.
It's amazing how easy it is to blend into a crowd. Every person mingling to watch may have a different story. Some are men, looking forward to what is bound to be a... titillating match. Others might be young fighting enthusiasts, eager to see any exhibition match that word gets around about. There are the regulars, the bookies, the fanatics.
One would hope that there is only one like Rugal here today, however. Were he dressed in his normal signiture suit, someone here would have recognized him for sure. While his public appearances have been precious few over the years, most were memorable enough to not be easily forgotten by those who witnessed them. But Rugal is not here to be seen. He is here to observe.
Dressed in clothing that befits an everyman, he blends in with his dark blue slacks and a dimly red casual polo shirt with a dark blue sports coat over it. The clothing is loose enough to partially obscure his muscular build. Irony of ironies, right now one of the most powerful crimelords in the world could pass as an unusually fit businessman who may have just happened by on his walk home from work. Completing the look is a black, soft wool fedora worn with the forward brim low. He does have an unfortunately distinct right eye to keep concealed after all.
Elle watches the fall with a dispassionate eye. If there's any good qualities to this woman, it's the fact that she's pretty silent. She doesn't preen of gloat. On the other hand, that just means she's deadly focused on the task at hand, which unfortunately for the beautiful Hawai'ian happens to be mauling her flawless ass five ways from Sunday.
No quarter is given or taken with Elle, and her heavy footfalls bring her into range once again. No graceful islander Elle. She moves with all the delicacy that God gave an glacier, and her plodding gait is steady and purposeful.
Heedless of this new addition to the audience, Elle raises a boot in an attempt to smash her heel into Leilani's gut. She does stay away from the hula dancer's face. Even Elle understands that Leilani needs to make a living.
She's heartless, not cruel.
COMBATSYS: Elle successfully hits Leilani with Medium Strike.
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Elle 0/-------/----===|=======\===----\1 Leilani
Dammit, hips, work. For a moment there, the impact of the throw causes the nerve impulses coming from her brain to not quite connect with the muscles in her hips, and thus as Elle shifts her boot straight into her stomach, Leilani finds that all attempts to block or dodge the kick become futile. Knocked backwards, the Hawai'ian feels a distinct 'click' along with a rush of pain... good pain, really, because it signals to her that her legs work again, but still pain. As she falls, she rolls back, smacking her head against the pavement for the first roll, and continuing for two more rolls.
The first and second roll back seem logical for the blow she's taken, but the third looks to be overdramatic... and it proves to be as she springs off her hands out of the roll and onto her feet with a catlike grace. Barely does her weight shift from freefall to her legs before she's off in a full sprint, charging hard at Elle with fierce determination. The Shark reaches for the other woman's hair, trying to grab it as she runs by...
COMBATSYS: Leilani successfully hits Elle with Banzai Pipeline.
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Elle 0/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Leilani
...and having grabbed that handful of stark-white hair, Leilani's arm arcs downward, dragging Elle off her feet and across the ground before pitching her into the air at a shallow angle. Still rushing along, the Hawai'ian leaps into the air, a trail of water droplets falling at her feet. Catching the rocker, Leilani flips Elle over so the leather-clad woman is facing the dirt and pavement while the dancer hops onto her back.
She's using Elle as a surfboard.
Riding her down, Leilani grinds her heel into the small of Elle's back, forcing the woman to arch as they make contact with the ground, sliding along for a long moment before the dancer ends the ride with a swift kick to the back of Elle's head, forcing the woman's face into the dirt like a brake. Carwheeling off the woman's head, the Shark smiles to herself.
See, she's cruel, not heartless.
Damage assessment. That hit did a lot more damage that Elle thought it would. Her attempt to deflect the incoming attack by defelcting the initial rush with her hands having failed, all she can do at this point is calculate a counterstrike. Even while in the midst of being dealt high amounts of pain, Elle's brain is calculating her next attack.
She recovers immediately. The speed in which she's able to bring herself up after being pummeled is almost unnerving, her sturdy frame wrenching up from the ground, covered in dirt and debris. Her face is cut and bleeding but her eyes convey not an iota of emotion. Already the cuts on her face are slowing in their bleeding, the blood coagulating inplain sight. It's not a healing factor so much as sheer willpower shunting the pain.
Elle cracks her knuckles once, and is immediately airborne. The woman launches herself into the air in a feat that's more brude force than aerodynamics as she attemps to loop her arm around the hula dancer's neck and twist violently before ending it in a backbreaker maneuver. Commando training on a musician? Stranger things have happened.
And what brings the Black Market tyrant out into the open? Elle Belmounte. More than one member of the "R" Organization has spent time among the guild the young woman is heading up. Alan R. B., for one. Though the young man had never really changed loyalties. And Cody. Busted from jail as a result of a deal made with Rugal, the perhaps falsely accused ex-con's loyalties have been far more suspect of late. And that shift in loyalty started with /his/ run in with Elle and her crew.
If it weren't his minions' run-ins with the Blackjack group, chances are Rugal might not have ever heard of them. At least, not for a long time yet. Groups like hers rise and fall all the time and hardly merit the slightest notice. Gangs come and go, sometimes due to attrition. Criminal empires rise and fall, collapsing under catastrophic failure when they attempt to extend their hand too far. It's the normal cycle of power. One Rugal is intimiately familiar with, as he has engineered many such disintegrations himself over the years. Elle's may end up being no different than countless others. But Rugal is curious. Rumors of Blackjack's brief involvement what he considers the Great Thailand Fiasco suggest that they have at least garned the attention of some of the other factions out there...
And so when his people told him of this fight to take place, Rugal found himself keenly interested in seeing Elle in combat. A master of studying the nuances of how individuals carry themselves in battle, the moustashed crime lord can think of no better way to see what the young up and coming faction leader is all about for himself.
COMBATSYS: Elle successfully hits Leilani with 17 Crash.
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Elle 1/-------/=======|=======\-------\0 Leilani
What the...?
OH JESUS FUCK OW.
Those are the only things that go through Leilani's head for a few moments after Elle goes airborne. She doesn't even get much of a chance to react... It would seem the damage to her system has made her slow on the uptake once again. This is quite typical... She's a tiny thing, and big knocks knock things loose. Like her ability to do anything more than get used as a grappling dummy for the rocker chick.
She can see the chiropractic bills in her head far more clearly than most of the attacks she's suffered. Picking herself off the ground, she grimaces and eyes her opponent, looking for a chink in the armor, so to speak... And that metal around the rocker's arm gives her an idea. Stepping in, she feints a jab towards Elle's jaw, hoping to draw the woman's defenses up before she tries to connect her other fist with either Elle's elbow, the coil of wire, or both.
Maybe that'll loosen up those grabby hands a bit.
COMBATSYS: Elle endures Leilani's Quick Punch.
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Elle 1/-----==/=======|=======\-------\0 Leilani
Not allowing personal feelings to get in the way of her work gives Elle a raw clarity to her actions. Her attacks are far less flashy than they once were, and she uses her new deliberate brutality to it's utmost. There's less finess and style involved in the way she does things in a stark contrast to Leilani's liquid grace.
The swift punch doesn't really catch Elle off guard as she more or less deliberately walks into it, the short punch crashing against her durable body as she reaches towards the smaller woman with an iron grip, her slender but calloused guitarist's fingers clamping towards Leilani's shoulder like a talon.
Should the relentless woman manage to take hold, she'll lift Leilani up high into the air with a toss, grab her leg by the ankle, and slam the dancer bodily into the ground. Once she hits the floor, she'll unlimber the guitar she has strapped to her back, and mercilessly pound the smaller woman repeatedly with the steel-plated instrument.
If anyone wants to see how Elle fights? This is an excellent opportunity. The key word here is pure, unadultered force.
COMBATSYS: Elle successfully hits Leilani with Iron Maiden.
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Elle 0/-------/------=|=======\=====--\1 Leilani
The punch hit, but it didn't stop those grabby hands, goddammit. Her shoulder caught like a vice, she finds herself heading skyward for a brief moment in time before suddenly crashing to the ground. After being spiked like a football in the NFL, she now gets to be the center show of a Who concert, with Elle as Pete Townshend.
Crash. Crash. Crash. Pain. Hips, midsection, sides, back, all are used as a place where the metal-skinned instrument can crash into her flesh with a gentle twang of the strings. It is nasty looking. But it isn't necessarily over.
Leilani looks as if she's about to blow chunks as the last blow crashes into her stomach, causing her to spasm up off the ground. But this movement is also her last chance on showing this rocker chick that she's still got something in her... And maybe it's something that can pay off. Mid-spasm, both her hands come together, attempting to latch onto Elle's wrist. If she can do that, she'll give her last ounce of strength into making the woman wish she'd never seen a guitar. If she can't... well, she doesn't think she can stand right now. That'd mean the fight'd be over.
So it's this or nothing but.
COMBATSYS: Leilani can no longer fight.
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Elle 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Elle blocks Leilani's Kapu Ku'i A Lua.
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Elle 0/-------/----===|
...Success. Almost. Kinda. Not.
Twisting Elle's arm around and locking the elbow out, Leilani squeezes the wrist until the guitar drops from Elle's hand. Jamming the arm back towards Elle's body, the Shark kicks a leg up before pulling back with all her might, causing the rocker's side to get caught by the Puma-clad heel of the Hawai'ian. Arms are shorter than legs, and thus something unpleasant almost happens when she does this... If Leilani's foot had been higher, it would've caused a dislocation. Instead, the Hawai'ian finds herself without a freely-movable shoulder, so she tries to pull herself up with the arm... before her rage quickly peters out, as does her strength. As the Shark's grip on the rocker's wrist loosens, her eyes gently close and she falls to the ground with an unceremonious thud. She can do no more harm.
"Hn," the fedora wearing gentlemen muses out loud. There were a lot of details he picked out in that brief, vicious battle. Small, little, tell-tale signs and indicators that reveal the type of person someone is on the inside. He can tell how much one cares, or how little. How one felt about others, if at all. Whether one valued their own life or fought with the callus apathy of one who cares about nothing.
There were a lot of facts Rugal Bernstein would take with him from observing this fight. And not all of them were specific to Elle. Her opponent piqued his interest as well, though definitely not in the same ways as the mercenary leader. Mr. Big's 'secretary' indeed, chuckles the man as he pulls the brim of his hat down lower. By the time the fight wraps up, he is no longer part of the crowd.
A sharp sensation of pain shoots down Elle's arm. The guitar is indeed dropped, but it doesn't matter so much. Even if that arm had been deadened in the fight, Elle is ambidextrous. The woman could have easily continued the fight with one arm if she absolutely had to. Instead, she watches the anger on leilani's face and tries to recall the last time she got angry. Frustrated. Driven. Obsessive, yes. But angry? It's been a long time.
She backs away rolling her shoulder as the unusual weapon is slid back into the holster. The feeling comes back quickly, although the pain doesn't subside very easily. Leilani's defeat doesn't appear to affect Elle one way or another. The fact that the dancer is out, however, is slightly disappointing.
Rather than taking the cheesy route of flipping a card onto the unconcious woman, Elle makes a note to contact the dancer later for business purposes. Elle is always on the take for more talent that she can use... and specifically, talent that's being wasted serving people that don't deserve it.
It would seem that Leilani's not being put to her highest and best use in Elle's eyes.
Elle assists the medics with Leilani, hoisting the small woman into a stretcher with disturbing ease before walking off. It'll be an interesting story to tell Tran at the very least. Having done what she can, she walks off after getting her paycheck. Always have to take care of that bottom line.
COMBATSYS: Elle has ended the fight here.
Log created on 01:09:57 06/20/2007 by Leilani, and last modified on 16:47:33 07/08/2007.